Baptist News Global

Understanding Christmas traditions is a matter of time

Christmas and New Year’s are fascinating seasons for scholars into temporal studies, the emerging academic field concerned with the ways humans understand time, author and cultural historian Alexis McCrossen said. “Holidays are special moments in time and special moments on…

Sing a new song: Reflections on Band Aid at 40

When it comes to Christmas music, I prefer mine sacred and sung by an English university choir. I haven’t really been “into” popular Christmas music or pop stars’ Christmas records (sacred or secular) since I was a kid — with…

Childhood memories of Christmas in Nigeria

Some of the most enduring lessons of life emanate from our parents. As a child who was born and grew up in Jos, in the northern part of Nigeria, one of my childhood memories was the annual visit with my…

3 killed as Methodist violence flares in Nigeria

Three United Methodists were killed Dec. 15 when a United Methodist Church in northeast Nigeria was attacked allegedly by supporters of the breakaway Global Methodist Church. A few days prior to the attack, a dissident organization that has promoted the…

Speak their names, tell their stories

Four score and seven years ago. Call me Ishmael. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Opening lines at their best can capture your attention….

How my postpartum depression helps me understand Advent better

I knew postpartum depression was coming for me. The darkness of depression has companioned me during various seasons of my life, and I knew my hormones weren’t going to give me a break after having a baby. It lasted for…

Pew study documents combination of religious repressions in some countries

Nations with governments highly repressive of certain religious groups usually have societies equally antagonistic toward religious minorities, new research shows. “Government restrictions and social hostilities tend to go hand in hand,” Pew Research Center says in its latest report on…

How a leap of faith from a bridge killed a part of me that actually needed to die

During my Ph.D. program, I found myself drowning in the deepest depression of my life — and that’s saying a lot. In college, a misunderstanding with a professor had prompted me to raise my dorm window and think very seriously…

‘The Gift of Christmas’ and other over-the-top celebrations of Jesus’ birth

A few weeks ago, I woke up to a text message saying it had snowed overnight, despite there having been no measurable snowfall in North Carolina since 2022 nor any forecasts of snow for that morning. Intrigued, I looked out…

Beware the billionaires who promise to make America great

President Carter: The second half of life can be better than the first

Previously published opinion pieces made a strong showing in this year’s Top 15

Rule No. 1